test blog #10

One of you crazy people nominated we move to canada for a 2005 Best Canadian Blog award , in the personal category. Whoever you are, I thank you. I notice that two of my favorite Canadian blogs, Canadian Cynic and The Gazetteer , were nominated in the liberal category. Now everyone go stuff that ballot box! I'm kidding. I don't even know who votes or how the voting works.

Would-be Canadians, take note. Lead story in today's Globe And Mail : Ottawa plans to unveil sweeping changes to immigration, starting today with an increase in the annual intake of new Canadians, and a promise to increase much-needed temporary workers and tackle the enormous backlog of 700,000 prospective immigrants. Immigration Minister Joe Volpe, who will table his annual report to Parliament today, says Canada hopes to be taking in as many as 300,000 immigrants a year within five years, and will start by raising its target for next year to between 225,000 and 255,000. Canada is on track to accept 245,000 this year, the very high end of last year's target. "We have to start thinking about the Immigration Department as a recruiting vehicle for Canada's demographic and labour market needs ..... we are the lungs of the country," said Mr. Volpe in an interview with The Globe and Mail. "We are producing more jobs than the labour market has workers for. ..... We...

Have you seen The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus ? This private concert film, directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg, was made for a British TV special in 1968. Besides the Stones, featuring Brian Jones at what turned out to be the very end of his life, it included The Who, John Lennon (playing in a band with Eric Clapton, Mitch Mitchell and Keith Richards), Yoko Ono, Jethro Tull, Taj Mahal and others. After filming Circus, the Stones weren't happy with its quality, and it never aired. Naturally it became legendary, with bootleg copies popping up now and again, and clips seen in other rock movies like the Stones's "Twenty Five By Five" and The Who's "The Kids Are Alright". Rock And Roll Circus was finally released in 1996, and now it's on DVD with some juicy extras. We saw it last night and were utterly riveted. The music is great, the bands are exciting and the staging is wacky and original, but it's Mick who steals the show. To see Mick Jagger i...

Wmtc has a flurry of new readers lately. Many people seem to be finding me through the expatriate connection. Friends of wmtc who file themselves under "Expatriate Bloggers" are (in alpha order) Expat Traveler , Melusina , Nicole in London , Suitcase Jenny (I love your name!) and Traveller One . The Student Nurse is soon to become an expatriate, and I feel I should mention one of wmtc's most longtime readers, the Canadian Expatriates . Did I miss anyone? Don't be shy! No matter how you stumbled on our little community, welcome. This blog has become, among other things, my invaluable resource for learning about Canada, Canadians and what people are thinking. Yesterday, people were thinking about the GO trains . I'll tell you what I know, then others who know much more can fill things in. At least one transpotter reads wmtc, as well as several GTA folks who may want to add to my impressions. According to their own website, GO Transit "is Canada's first...

The Large Canadian Law Firm was very impressed. Allan starts training on Monday. It's the kind of position we were hoping for: full-time hours squeezed into three long days. We've both worked that way for many years, although for a long time we had it down to two days. (We knew we wouldn't be able to do that in Toronto, because the per-hour rate wouldn't be as high.) The third day's a killer, but it's worth it to get the day-job over with all at once. Allan is submitting a book proposal soon, and three days a week will leave him lots of time to write procrastinate. This job has decent pay and good benefits, but there are some strange hours. I always say that we were intent on living near the Lakeshore Line GO trains, because it's the only line that runs all day and on weekends, and we were sure our day-jobs would have unconventional hours. Unfortunately, Allan's hours will be so unconventional that there won't be any trains at all. He'll get o...

This morning when I walked the dogs, the plants along the waterfront trail were covered in a layer of ice. It's still mild enough for a light jacket, but I need gloves in the morning, and today I could have used my ear muffs.

I'm opening a sticky subject here, my need to understand causing me to throw caution to the wind. It's about Alberta. Alberta vs. the rest of the Canada. The Globe And Mail runs something about Alberta's gripes every day, and I try to follow along. If it weren't for wmtc's resident Albertan , and the ensuing arguments in comments, I would've had no warning. It's not something Americans know about. As is, observing for more than a year, I have only the smallest of clues. Here's what I know. Please pardon my ignorance and oversimplification, but I have to start somewhere. The province of Alberta is rich, because it has oil. The province of Alberta is conservative, relative to the rest of Canada. Hmm. Funny how those two go together. Because of its great oil wealth, Alberta revenue helps fund services in the rest of Canada. (These are transfer payments?) Apparently many Albertans resent this. They want to keep Alberta's money in Alberta. They don't...

Congratulations to WNBA star Sheryl Swoopes on coming out as a lesbian . Houston Comets forward Sheryl Swoopes is opening up about being a lesbian, telling a magazine that she's "tired of having to hide my feelings about the person I care about." Swoopes, honored last month as the WNBA's Most Valuable Player, told ESPN The Magazine for a story on newsstands Wednesday that she didn't always know she was gay and fears that coming out could jeopardize her status as a role model. "Do I think I was born this way? No," Swoopes said. "And that's probably confusing to some, because I know a lot of people believe that you are." Swoopes, who was married and has an 8-year-old son, said her 1999 divorce "wasn't because I'm gay." She said her reason for coming out now is merely because she wants to be honest. "It's not something that I want to throw in people's faces. I'm just at a point in my life where I'm tired ...

Congratulations to the 2005 Chicago White Sox on sweeping the Houston Astros to win the franchise's first championship in 88 years. Red Sox in 2004 (first since 1918), White Sox in 2005 (first since 1917), and both sweeps! What are the odds? I don't believe in curses, but I do love the coincidence of all these long-suffering fans being delivered into joy in successive years. The pressure's on the Cubs now!

I get email on a regular basis from Americans interested in emigrating to Canada. It seems to come in bunches - nothing for a weeks, then three or four at once. This one was particularly moving. I'm omitting some personal details and some embarrassing (though highly gratifying) praise of wmtc. I just wanted to tell you that I'm happy to have stumbled across your blog in the course of my research. It's been very informative and has given me some hope that I'll be able to somehow get my family out of the U.S. I greatly appreciate your unapologetic tone and the way you are able to articulate the reasons for your departure. People like to talk a lot of shit about departing these shores but they can never back it up, know what I'm sayin'? Since January of 2004 I've been looking for a way to emigrate to either NZ or Canada. After 11 months of researching NZ immigration requirements I concluded that the expense, difficulty, and distance from family would just be to...

At my recent post about waiting for health care , Evan posted this excellent comment : . . . BC also has an approximately 3 month waiting period: New residents or persons re-establishing residence in B.C. are eligible for coverage after completing a waiting period that normally consists of the balance of the month of arrival plus two months. For example, if an eligible person arrives during the month of July, coverage is available October 1. If absences from Canada exceed a total of 30 days during the waiting period, eligibility for coverage may be affected. As another American transplanted to Canada I am in awe of the Canadian health system. The fact that it gets the job done with less government funding is also incredible. It's not perfect. Waiting times can be a problem for non-life-threatening conditions (my wife has waited 10 months and will probably wait another 4-8 for a knee operation). But one of my blue-collar neighbors recently had a massive heart problem and was in ICU...

Life here in Port Credit continues to feel more like real life, and less like some strange role-play game. It's remarkably easy to adjust to more comfort and more convenience: the house, the car, the washer-dryer, the dishwasher. Allan has been temping three or four days each week at a downtown law firm. They are - of course - wowed by his performance. Yesterday he had a second interview for a permanent position of the kind we're hoping for him - three long days with odd hours. This spot would be Friday, Saturday and Sunday, about 2 pm to 1 am. It's at one of the biggest Canadian firms, so the job comes with good benefits, like dental and prescription coverage (Americans may not realize those are not covered under the provincial health plans), a transportation allowance, and a fair amount of paid time off. We're waiting to see if they make him an offer. My second Ancient Civilizations book assignment still hasn't started - it was supposed to begin in early or mid Se...

2,000 US men and women have now died in Iraq. From United for Peace And Justice : We grieve for these two thousand men and women, killed in the prime of their lives, for a war based on lies, and we grieve for the tens of thousands of Iraqis who have also died in the chaos and carnage the Bush Administration has brought to their country. It's time to bring the troops home -- now. Not one more U.S. serviceperson should give his or her life to this senseless war. Not one more Iraqi should be killed. Not one more U.S. dollar should be spent sustaining this war and occupation. All around the country, people will gather tomorrow, Wednesday, October 26, to honor the dead and call for the troops to come home. We urge you to join one of these events -- or organize one in your community if none has yet been planned. UFPJ is supporting the call made by UFPJ member groups -- American Friends Service Committee , Gold Star Families for Peace and Military Families Speak Out -- for these actions...

Recently I was contacted by someone who wants to reprint my Roe v. Wade essay from Common Dreams. It's an educational publisher that compiles writing on specific Supreme Court decisions, for study in schools. I was very flattered to be included. The publishers sent me a permissions agreement, which looked acceptable, meaning they weren't asking for anything ridiculous like exclusive rights or a copyright transfer. Under "payment", there were two checkboxes - "gratis", and "fee"; under "fee" there was a blank for an amount. The man who emailed me hadn't mentioned a fee. Mind you, they aren't asking to use the essay on a website which the public accesses for free. It's for a hardcover book, published by a for-profit company. I thanked him, told him I was flattered, and asked about payment. Guess what? There is a fee - for those who ask. No one ever would have mentioned money if I hadn't. Lesson #1: Always ask for money. Le...

Yesterday it was announced that provincial health ministries will have set wait-times benchmarks for five health conditions by the December 31st deadline. Health ministers from across the country say they will establish by a December deadline the first targets for how long people must wait to be treated for such ailments as cancer and joint replacements. But it was unclear how extensive the list will be and how much it will help patients. "How many [benchmarks] there are will depend on the evidence in a number of areas that we have," federal Health Minister Ujjal Dosanjh said yesterday after a weekend meeting with his provincial and territorial counterparts. "If you ask me if we'll have 20 benchmarks in the area of cancer, I will tell you no, from what I know now, because it is a very sophisticated, complex area," he said. "But we will have some benchmarks in all areas." Provincial and territorial ministers committed in a health accord signed last yea...

Rosa Parks, 1913-2005 Parks was already living the movement when she was tapped for her pivotal role. She was chosen for her courage, her commitment to the cause, her unblemished reputation (very important for movement strategy!) and her unflappable poise. For the complete story behind Parks's courageous act of defiance - and for an in-depth history of the American civil rights movement - I highly recommend Taylor Branch's Parting The Waters .

We're being good Halloween hosts this year. In New York, we pretended we weren't home. Yup, we were mean old cranks. We just couldn't stand dealing with our neighbours and their kids and our barking dogs. But now, being in a house, feeling so friendly and upbeat, I'm going all the way. Putting up decorations on the front door and steps, keeping a big supply of candy at the ready - and answering the door in costume! I'm thinking I'll get a rubber mask, that's always good for a startle. I'm not going to be Dick Cheney or anything, don't want to give anyone a massive coronary, but someone suitably gross. My question is, is there charity attached to Trick Or Treat here? I know there's Trick Or Treat because I see all the stuff in the supermarket. But do kids also collect coins for charity? When I was a kid, the schools gave out these little orange cardboard Unicef boxes , and most houses put in a penny or two along with your candy. I remember my mom ...

Cindy Sheehan addresses us. Before you start reading, grab a box of tissues.

On Friday, Marnie and I had a lovely walk through Mt. Pleasant Cemetery . You may recall that I did a cemetery walk shortly before I left New York, touring a historic cemetery that I had once lived near, but never visited. I also enjoyed Marnie's post about her Mt. Pleasant visit , so this seemed like a good fit. Mt. Pleasant is an absolutely beautiful park. Like many old manicured cemeteries, it also serves as an arboretum and sculpture garden. There were incredible old trees in blazing fall colors, and an immense weeping willow that had us gaping. Many famous people are buried in Mt. Pleasant, among them Mackenzie King (whose grave we noticed early on), Frederick Banting and Charles Best, the discovers of insulin, Jennie Smillie-Robinson, Canada's first female surgeon, and pianist Glenn Gould. We paid our respects to victims of a 1970 plane crash, and got choked up in the children's garden. Is there anything sadder than seeing a grave with a cradle and little toys pic...

With the very end of baseball fast approaching, Movie Season is about to begin. We had already joined a local video store - autumn training? - but now we've plunged into Zip.ca , the Canadian version of Netflix. We joined this morning, rebuilding our old Netflix Queue as a ZipList. If you've been reading wmtc for a while, you know I lived and died by Netflix , and nothing else will do. Local movie-rental stores are nice, but they never have enough selection, you have to make a special trip there, and if you don't get around to watching the movie, you're paying late fees. Movies-on-demand favor the blockbusters, plus a small sample of independents, even more limited than a corner store. In Netflix I found movie nirvana: massive selection, unlimited rentals, no due dates, and I can control it all from my desk while I have my morning coffee. I was horrified when Netflix cancelled its plans to expand into Canada. The selection at Zip seems almost as good; we'll see if t...

The World Series starts today, with the Chicago White Sox meeting the Houston Astros. I watched very little of the playoffs, for the first time in a good 20 years, but Allan and I are both back on board for the October Classic. I generally can't watch a series without some sort of rooting interest, and this one's an easy choice. The White Sox are an original American League team , born in 1901. (The Astros are a relatively young team, born the same year as me.) I am one of the few people who likes the new Comiskey Park (now called by a corporate name, but Comiskey to me). I thoroughly enjoyed the ballpark experience there, full of quirks and odd traditions. Plus, Mariano Rivera signed my cap there. Say no more. They wear pinstripes. And even though I've traded my pinstripes for citizenship in the Nation , I cheered for pinstripes for about 30 years. They're imprinted in my heart. They are the team of the great Bill Veeck (rhymes with wreck), one of the most creative (...

A few days ago, a Rwandan-born man living in Toronto became the first person to be arrested under Canada's Crimes Against Humanities Law. Under this law , passed in 2000, if there is enough evidence that someone has committed war crimes or crimes against humanity, the RCMP can arrest him, no matter where those crimes are alleged to have been committed, and no matter how long ago. This is a big step in the history of justice. With this law, Canada sets an example to the world. Desire Munyaneza, the Toronto man who was arrested, is accused of helping to orchestrate the 1994 Rwandan genocide . For me, one of the most striking parts of this story was seeing a man who helped identify Munyaneza, which led to the five-year investigation, which in turn led to his arrest. Jean-Paul Nyilinkwaya is a survivor of the Rwandan genocide; he lost about 70 family members. In 2000, living in Toronto (he now lives in Montreal), Nyilinkwaya would see Munyaneza going about his business - taking the s...

If crime is disproportionately low in Canada, fame is disproportionately high. It seems every day I learn some famous person is Canadian. Through this blog, I learned that William Shatner is Canadian! Amazing that I didn't know that, as I really like the original Star Trek series. (Although I'm not a Sci Fi or Star Trek aficionado by any means, so I've never read a word about the show.) I recently learned that Bruce McCall , whose work I enjoy so much in The New Yorker , is Canadian. Diana Krall, Jane Siberry and Marshall McLuhan are others I recently found out about. Usually Allan can't believe I didn't know that the person is from Canada. Jane Siberry, for example, inspired "Where were you in college radio during the mid-80s?" Funny, since Allan was a college radio DJ in the mid-80s and introduced me to a ton of music. Well, I still didn't know. And even Allan was surprised about William Shatner. Everyone knows that Canadians collect famous Canadian...

A big news story when we first got here was a rash of gun-related deaths in Toronto , mostly attributable to gang violence. By September, there had been 37. Last year Toronto hit an all-time high of deaths by guns: 50. To our American ears, this number sounds almost like zero. I don't want to minimize 50 deaths. Those are fifty people who could still be alive, fifty people whose families mourn them. And the fact that a city wants to reduce gun-related deaths is only a good thing. But still, to our American ears, that number is miniscule. The population of Toronto is 2.5 million, with another 2.5 million living in the Greater Toronto Area, for a total of 5 million. The population of New York City is 8 million. The equivalent number of gun deaths in New York, based on relative population, would be 80. The Mayor who presided over that year could just about set him or herself up for life. Also - and I'm not sure how this figures in - the population of Canada being so much smaller...

I need a day off from blogging. Have a good day, see you tomorrow (and in comments).

My recent post on the US and Canada's flags inspired some terrific comments. You can read them here.

In the US, especially for the last four years, the Stars and Stripes flies everywhere. I hated it. In Canada, the Maple Leaf flies everywhere. I like it. This is so different for me. I've been rejecting the US flag one way or another for most of my adult life - refusing to stand for the national anthem, turning flag postage stamps upside down, any little symbolic act that subverts the powerful symbol. Here, I look at the Maple Leaf, and I smile inside. At the very least, I'm neutral. Why do the two flags evoke such different responses for me? When I mentioned this to Allan, he said he's been thinking about the same thing. For him, he said, the bad feelings about the US flag stem from who flies it. He imagines the flag-fliers are right-wing, war-happy, love-it-or-leave-it types, the folks listening to Bill O'Reilly and boycotting France. The working-class Americans ignorant enough to think the Republicans are on their side. It's a stereotype, of course, but it'...

I took a long walk through our neighbourhood yesterday afternoon. Here's some of what I saw. This neighbourhood is full of huge new "McMansions", but I prefer the smaller, older homes.

Anyone see The Daily Show last night? Jon Stewart was covering W's little chat with the troops. You know, the "impromptu" talk for which the Department of Defense rehearsed the soldiers ? They really ought to run that teleprompter faster; W sounded like such an idiot. ( See here. ) Even in a scripted event, he still can't get it together to speak in coherent sentences. Scary. Anyway, after Stewart finished, Rob Corddry did a brilliant bit of post-modern brain-teasing, reviewing the hit TV series called "The White House". Move over, Geena Davis , this fall - a man will... still... be president. Remember that great scene in Season 3, where the President, called "George W. Bush", a competitive, born-again, ex-alcoholic with a Texas twang and a chip on his shoulder, landed a fighter plane on the deck of an aircraft carrier and shouted "Mission Accomplished"? Wasn't that great?? Corddry tells us fans of this smash TV show are called "...

An anonymous (of course) commenter chastised me for not blogging about the Iraqi constitution, as if I'm some kind of international news service, or as if somehow the existence of that piece of paper should change my opinion about anything. One story I have been following with great interest is the teachers' strike in British Columbia . I'm thrilled to see the teachers standing together in support of their right to collective bargaining, despite court orders and whatever else the government can throw at them. The strike is technically "illegal" - because the provincial legislature passed a new law declaring it so. I've read some letters in the Globe And Mail whining about "what message does it send the children when teachers break the law?" - and some terrific letters in response, reminding us that there are many kinds of lessons. If our highest value is obedience to the law, we'll need to remove some heroic names from our history books: Gand...

I was just answering a question in comments, when I realized I might as well make it a post. Sassycat asked: PS: have you had trouble converting temperatures/ measurements/currency yet? I know when I moved south of the border, it messed me up a lot ("what the hell is a yard?"). I'm trying to go cold-turkey - to not convert, but to think in metric. Litres and metres are easy. Centimetres and millilitres, not so much. I don't know them at all. Kilometres are easy, especially if you don't convert, just drive. Kilometres per hour is even easier, once you're driving a Canadian car with the KpH more prominent in the dashboard. Celsius is still tough! Every morning I look at the local weather , then try to associate how it feels outside with the number. I often go to my convert anything to anything link to see the Fahrenheit equivalent. And these Canadian spellings are still killing me. Did I get them all? * * * * Lone Primate 's comment below made me think of ...

Yesterday, after presents, we bought a map of Ontario (which we needed anyway), drove around the corner and kept driving. It's kind of funny - the main north-south street near us is Hurontario, or Highway 10, which stretches from Lake Ontario to Georgian Bay. We were wondering how far we'd have to drive before the suburban sprawl and fast-food chains disappeared. Mississauga bleeds into Brampton, which has a pretty stretch of original town on Hurontario, but looks poised to be overwhelmed by sprawl. (We looked at houses in Brampton last year, and you could practically see the open space being devoured by townhouse developments in front of your eyes.) But slightly north of Brampton, the development thins out and you're in rural country. We found a roadside diner, our favorite kind of place when driving around. Eating at a joint like that, you could be anywhere. Rural people look the same everywhere in North America, only the accents change. Further on, we poked around the to...

I knew I'd forget somebody. Also new to my blogroll : Expat Travels: From Switzerland to Canada , a traveling, hiking, photographing Canadian with a cool blog. (Sorry to have omitted you earlier, Expat Traveler!) If I've forgotten you, too, please don't be shy. Email me so I can add you to my blogroll. Why not. Links are good.

Alternative title: Happy Birthday Allan! It's Redsock 's birthday today. Sadly, I could not arrange a repeat of last year's birthday present , but I do have some cool consolation prizes. In comments here , James suggested we take a fall foliage drive in the country, and Marnie reminded me that the window of opportunity would soon be closing. My Canadian geography still being dismal, I thought we'd have to drive way far away to be "out in the country," but apparently not. And, to my happy surprise, Allan said he'd been wondering what is just north of us, and where we might see some small towns and pretty country roads. So instead of a birthday dinner, we're doing a birthday drive. Sans chiens , I'm afraid. They'll have a nice walk before we leave, but leaving them home gives us more freedom. That's how it is when you have a mentally ill dog. I've been taking advantage of this lovely autumnal weather, knowing how short-lived it usually is...

Since the CBC is back, I've been watching "The National" every night (or every night that I remember to - trying to get into a new habit). For those of you who don't watch CBC, The National is an hour-long nightly news show. I love it. First, it's a pleasure to watch a full hour of visual news with minimal commercial interruption. I really like the in-depth features on various aspects of Canadian life. The reporting on the US is edged with a heavy dose of skepticism, which of course I appreciate. In general, I actually feel like I'm learning something. On last night's broadcast, there were excerpts from a "Mansbridge One On One" interview with Don Cherry. Since we've been talking about Mr Cherry ( here and here ), I had to watch. I must say, Cherry looked like an idiot next to Mansbridge, and not because Mansbridge was playing the interview that way. Cherry just sounded ridiculous, defending fighting in hockey, declaring that "whateve...

Mitch, wmtc's resident surfer , stopped by to give me this really cool link . The main site, Canada4Life.Ca is a bit over-the-top for my tastes - too much flag-waving of the US variety. But hey, at least when a Canadian says, "This is the greatest country in the world," he has a leg to stand on. Anyway, the video is great. Although I've never noticed that greenbacks smell.

This blog has been turning up in many places lately, so I've added several sites to the wmtc blogroll. You might enjoy checking them out. I may have highlighted some of these before, but I'd rather hit one twice than leave anyone out. Canadian Gourdess , a/k/a Kyahgirl, a Perfumista. Lucious . Nope. Elin has changed the name to Filoli . Mel's Diner , a Tennessee grrl in Greece. Check out the cool banner. Now THAT'S Amateur , written by a former Olympic athlete. Nicole In London , another expatriate. Peregrinato , and I'll highlight this post , for ego-stroking reasons. Rududu on the road , a traveler who pops up here now and again. '77 Track 7 , blog-friend James in his book-reading guise. The Gazetteer , a lefty from Vancouver. This Space For Rent , who has changed the name of this blog to past tense. Urban Chick , a woman after my own heart. Wrytings, Too , wmtc's own Wrye. You Are Here , our own Marnie, whose blog is newly unveiled. (Still waiting to see ...

Remember JibJab , the team who brought us those terrific US election parodies? They've taken on Wal-Mart. Click, watch and spread the word!

I finished Fifth Business , the first book in Robertson Davies's Deptford Trilogy , and am starting the second, The Manticore . The first book was brilliant. It's very difficult to describe, as it weaves together so many themes - religion, myth, vengeance, the complexity of human motivations, love in all its many guises. It's also a mystery, in the sense that a novel can be full of surprises and reveal itself only to the patient reader. The device that joins the first and second novels is as elegant a bit of writing as I've ever seen. I recommend these books to everyone who appreciates good writing and great novels. I'm thrilled to have finally discovered Davies, and will be devouring many of his works over the months and years ahead.

Yesterday I went to the Toronto neighbourhood known as the Danforth. I took the GO train into the city, then got the subway at Union Station. It was my first time on the subway since we got here. We rode the subway on our first trip to Toronto, though only for a few stops, from our hotel to Skydome. This was a more substantial trip, with a switch between lines. I felt like I live here. (Oh wait, I do live here.) Also, I love public transportation, and like to ride subways anywhere I am. What is up with those tokens? They are tiny, lightweight little coins, easily confused with dimes. Note to self: keep subway tokens separate! I was very pleasantly surprised when, shortly before my stop, the train emerged from the tunnel, revealing a panoramic view. The train was high above a big valley. There were highways and train tracks below, but there was also a river, and a large swath of trees, all decked out for autumn. The Don River Valley, maybe? ( James and Marnie can let me know.) I lov...

Last night we caught a re-broadcast of "The Simpsons" gay marriage episode from earlier this year. It was both hilarious and skewering in the best Simpsons tradition. As the song goes (sung to the tune of "The Banana Boat Song"): "Gaaay-o, it's OK-o... Tie the knot and spend all your dough." Homer, raking in said dough performing same-sex marriage ceremonies, asks, "What do you call a guy that's gay for a girl?" (Straight!) In case you haven't seen it, I don't want to give any major spoilers. I was so happy that the character who comes out - despite the conventional plot twist that might save [the character's] straight bacon - stays out. Read more here and try to catch it if you can. I can't be the only person who saw this 8 months late.

I just drove Allan to the GO station for his second day of work. The work itself sounded fine, but the pay rate is a bit of a shock for us (though fully expected). On one hand, temping doesn't pay very well - a steady word-processing gig will pay much better. And on the other hand, our last jobs in New York paid ridiculously well, enabling us to keep only part-time day-jobs, giving us a lot more time to write. (Or procrastinate, as the case may be.) We knew we'd never see the likes of those jobs again. Our biggest dread about leaving New York was that it would almost certainly mean working full-time. For now, we've been granted a reprieve by these very well-paid writing assignments falling into my lap. I'm expecting this to be temporary - don't want to get my hopes up too high - but it's great while it lasts. I'm headed into Toronto today for a little exploring and possibly shopping for a certain someone's upcoming birthday. Report to follow. * * * * Co...

What is the matter with Kansas, anyway? Could it be the voting machines? I'm sure you've heard of Tom Frank's book, What's The Matter With Kansas? , which examines why blue-collar, working-class, white Americans vote against their own economic interests - i.e., have abandoned the Democratic party and are voting Republican. Katrina vanden Heuvel, editor of The Nation , says that the answer might be: nothing. I'm a Tom Frank fan. I think he's a wonderful and passionate writer. But, now a respected political scientist is arguing that the "Great Backlash" Frank chronicled in his last book, in which "conservatives won the heart of America" and created a "dominant political coalition" by convincing Kansans and blue-collar, working-class people to vote against their own economic interests in order to defend traditional cultural values against bicoastal elites "isn't actually happening--at least, not in anything like the way Fran...

Remember Pat Tillman, the NFL player who met a "hero's" death in Afghanistan? First we discovered he was killed by his own compatriots. Now I've learned he opposed W and the invasion of Iraq. Read this amazing story about him, which I found through In Cold Blog . I am always interested in why more athletes don't speak out , and in those times when they do . Both those wmtc posts link to good essays on sports and politics. This Pat Tillman information is amazing. Can you imagine how their wingnuttified heads would explode if they knew Tillman was cozy with the radical critic Noam Chomsky? Of course, as Redsock points out , they've forgotten all about Tillman by now. But still.

Letter to the editor in today's Globe And Mail : It's a pity that, as a side effect of hockey's return, we have to endure Don Cherry and his rants once again. Mr. Cherry is to Canada what George W. Bush is to the United States: a disgrace. - Werner Schmalz, Toronto Dear Mr Schmalz: I wish with all my heart George W. Bush was a commentator on a weekly sports show. He could wear ugly clothes and rant to his heart's content, and I'd never raise a peep of protest. Last time I checked, sports commentators were not authorized to drop bombs or give away their country's natural resources to industries. As far as I know, no sports commentator has ever made an appointment to the Supreme Court, or stolen an election. My dear Mr Schmalz, whose sensibilities are so offended by this national disgrace, I will trade you one George W. Bush for an entire province full of Don Cherrys. The United States won't notice Mr Cherry's voice - or his jackets - above the din, and th...

Allan has temp work today and for the rest of the week, our first paid employment since arriving. In my experience with temping (which is considerable), once you get work and get a good review, the work starts flowing. It's excellent timing. The Red Sox are home for the winter, Allan's not working on any big writing projects, and a little income will be very welcome. I have spotted my second Ancient Civs book on the horizon. My editor tells me the assignment is definite, there's just a lot of internal debate about deadlines going on. I sure hope she wins those. I'm likely to get my Kids On Wheels assignment at the same time. No work for two months, then everything at once. The usual. I truly enjoyed my mother's visit. It made me realize how low-stress my life is right now. In our last months in New York, I was dealing with big writing deadlines, a critically ill dog, and all the pressures and concerns of the impending move. After the move, all that dissipated, then ...

Looks like the threat to the New York City subway system wasn't real after all. There's a surprise. According to this New York Times story , the increased security has been stepped down. New York officials scaled back security in the city's subways yesterday after federal and local law enforcement authorities discounted the report of a terrorist threat to the city's underground transportation system. Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said that the extraordinary measures put in place on Thursday - police officers on every train, major shows of force at transportation centers - would be relaxed, but that the city would continue many of the enhanced measures it has taken to protect the subways since the bombings in London in July. "There was no there there," one senior United States counterterrorism official said of the possible threat that surfaced publicly late last week. From the outset, some federal officials, including those with the Department of Homeland Securit...